Report Highlights Financial Health, Workforce and Services Provided by State Library Administrative Agencies to Communities

Washington, DC—The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) has published the latest report on the State Library Administrative Agencies (SLAA) Survey, providing findings on the state of SLAAs through FY 2022. Conducted since 1994, this survey highlights trends in financial health, workforce, and services provided by SLAAs to libraries and library cooperatives.

“The SLAA Survey provides key stakeholders, including state and federal policymakers, with critical insights into the state of the nation’s SLAAs. This highlights the need for support and accurate assessment of needs,” said IMLS Acting Director Cyndee Landrum. “The report acknowledges SLAAs as resourceful and responsive to changing community needs and funding availability, establishing new practices and adopting innovative technologies to offer new services to their communities.”

Key Findings:

• Financial Health: SLAA expenditures totaled nearly $1.5 billion, with 70% allocated to financial assistance for libraries and 27% to SLAA operations. This marks a 14% increase in expenditures between FY 2020 and FY 2022, reversing the historical trend of a 3% biennial decrease.

• Workforce: In FY 2022, SLAAs employed 2,593 full-time equivalent staff, a 2.5% increase from FY 2020. While states had differences in FTE changes over the years, this is only the second increase in the overall FTE count since FY 2006. Overall, the number of FTE staff at SLAAs has declined by 25% over the 16-year period from FY 2006 to FY 2022.

• Services Provided: Despite previous declines in revenues, expenditures, and staffing, SLAAs continue to provide a wide range of services to libraries and library cooperatives. All SLAAs administer Library Services and Technology Act programming and funds, and nearly all serve as central points of contact for data about libraries in their states, facilitate statewide resource sharing, administer summer reading and continuing education programs, and engage in library planning, evaluation, and research.

New Tool Launched

IMLS introduced a new SLAA Survey Comparison Tool on IMLS.gov earlier this year. This online dashboard allows users to compare data from up to 3 states and the national average, displaying results in visually accessible 10-year trend graphs or data tables. The tool also includes service tables for each state, providing a comprehensive overview of SLAA activities such as consulting services and funding for statewide databases, literacy programs, and emerging technologies like Wi-Fi Hotspots.

Read the full report and access the data files and documentation here.

About the SLAA Survey
The purpose of the SLAA survey is to provide state and federal policymakers, researchers, and other interested users with descriptive information about state library administrative agencies. The federal government has been collecting statistical data on SLAAs since 1994, and this report marks the ninth release of state library statistics from IMLS, containing findings from SLAAs in the 50 states and the District of Columbia for FY 2022.

About the Institute of Museum and Library Services
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation's libraries and museums. We advance, support, and empower America's museums, libraries, and related organizations through grantmaking, research, and policy development. IMLS envisions a nation where individuals and communities have access to museums and libraries to learn from and be inspired by the trusted information, ideas, and stories they contain about our diverse natural and cultural heritage. To learn more, visit www.imls.gov and follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn.